In larger-scale fluidic pipeline systems, in particular piping systems on board ships, a plurality of consumers or “loads” are typically supplied with different media. A load can be, for example, a heat exchanger, a hydraulic drive or a system having a requirement to be supplied continuously with lubricant, e.g. in a drive. From the hydrodynamic point of view, a load within the meaning of the present invention is a flow channel having an individual, possibly variable flow resistance in each case and an individual volume flow requirement of a medium. Furthermore the pipe run via which a load is connected to the overall system has a pipe resistance resulting from the given physical conditions and the transported volume flow. In designing a system of this kind the object is to satisfy the different requirements of the individual loads by means of suitable measures, e.g. diaphragms in the pipe runs, in such a way that each load receives the volume flow it requires at any given time. The active component of the system (e.g. pump, compressor) is in this case operated at a fixed, non-variable speed. As regards the static performance of such a system, this object can be achieved sufficiently well at the present time.
As far as the dynamic characteristics of such a system are concerned, the following approach is currently adopted in shipbuilding generally: A load is provided with a bypass and a control or regulating element (e.g. a three-way valve). By means of a diaphragm if necessary the bypass acquires a hydrodynamic resistance which is as similar as possible to that of the load over a wide range of different volume flows. According to the requirement of the load, the control or regulating element controls a variable proportion of the volume flow, from 0% up to 100% if necessary, via the bypass. Because of the almost identical hydrodynamic resistance in the load and in the bypass the overall system and hence the further loads connected in parallel or in series are not affected by the regulating operation and so remain quasi-static. This facilitates the regulating and control function and limits the overhead.